Mechanical effects on endothelial cell morphology: In vitro assessment

Summary Endothelial cells are subjected to fluid mechanical forces which accompany blood flow. These cells become elongated and orient their long axes parallel to the direction of shear stress when the cultured cells are subjected to flow in an in vitro circulatory system. When the substrate is compliant and cyclically deformed, to simulate effects of pressure in the vasculature, the cells elongate an orient perpendicular to the axis of deformation. Cell shape changes are reflected in the alignment of microtubule networks. The systems described provide tools for assessing the individual roles of shear stress, pressure, and mechanical strain on vascular cell structure and function. This work was partially supported by grants HL 17437, HL 18072, and HL 23016 from the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, and grant C-938 from the Robert A. Welch Foundation.     

Serotonin-induced deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis in vascular smooth muscle cells involves a novel, pertussis toxin-sensitive pathway

Serotonin-induced DNA synthesis in bovine aortic smooth muscle cells was totally abolished by pretreatment of cultures with 5 ng/ml pertussis toxin. The half maximally effective concentration of toxin was approximately 10 pg/ml. Pertussis toxin did not affect platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-stimulated DNA synthesis and actually enhanced the mitogenic effect of the phorbol ester, phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate. Pertussis toxin did not inhibit serotonin-stimulated inositol phosphate accumulation or increases in intracellular calcium or cAMP concentrations under conditions sufficient to completely inhibit serotonin-induced (3H)thymidine incorporation. These results demonstrate that a novel, pertussis-sensitive pathway is required for serotonin-, but not platelet-derived growth factor-induced DNA synthesis in vascular smooth muscle cells. The pertussis-sensitive step does not involve cAMP, phosphoinositide hydrolysis, mobilization of intracellular calcium, or phorbol ester-sensitive protein kinase C activity.     

Amino-terminal nucleotide-binding sequences of a Lactobacillus deoxynucleoside kinase complex isolated by novel affinity chromatography

A highly efficient new affinity medium for deoxycytidine kinase, deoxycytidine 5'-tetraphosphate-Sepharose (dCp4-Sepharose), has been constructed. A dCp4-Sepharose column effects a one-step, 19,000-fold, purification to homogeneity of dCyd kinase from the ammonium sulfate fraction of Lactobacillus acidophilus R-26 extract, with 60% recovery. dCTP, a potent end-product inhibitor, is used as an eluent, and it also stabilizes the extremely labile purified enzyme. A noncompeting deoxyadenosine kinase activity accompanies the deoxycytidine kinase activity eluted. Native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis shows a single protein band, which coincides with both deoxycytidine kinase and deoxyadenosine kinase activities at several gel concentrations. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis reveals a single polypeptide band of 26,000 daltons. Since the native enzyme is known to have an Mr of 50,000, it appears that the enzyme is composed of two subunits of similar size. Sequence analysis of the intact protein from the N-terminus reveals but a single amino acid species per residue up to the 17th residue; at the 18th, 21st, 26th, and 27th residue positions of the sequence, however, there appear to be two different amino acids in almost equal amounts. This may indicate that the enzyme is composed of two nonidentical subunits having the same amino acid sequence near the N-terminus. Residues 6-13 contain the highly conserved Gly-X-X-Gly-X-Gly-Lys sequence found at the active sites of kinases and other nucleotide-binding proteins.     

EVALUATION OF THERAPY OF PERIPHERAL POLYNEURITIS

Peripheral polyneuritis is not a disease entity but a mystery. The underlying cause should be searched for, but since often it cannot be found, treatment should be started simultaneously with the search. Conservative measures should be tried first—vitamin B complex, niacin, riboflavin, pyridoxine and thiamine chloride; next, injections of liver extract. Then, if no specific condition amenable to treatment has been discovered and if the patient is seriously incapacitated and becoming worse, hospitalization for trial with BAL is indicated.     

Phylogeny and taxonomy of the Prenolepis genus‐group of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Abstract. We investigated the phylogeny and taxonomy of the Prenolepis genus‐group, a clade of ants we define within the subfamily Formicinae comprising the genera Euprenolepis, Nylanderia, gen. rev. , Paraparatrechina, gen. rev. & stat. nov. , Paratrechina, Prenolepis and Pseudolasius. We inferred a phylogeny of the Prenolepis genus‐group using DNA sequence data from five genes (CAD, EF1αF1, EF1αF2, wingless and COI) sampled from 50 taxa. Based on the results of this phylogeny the taxonomy of the Prenolepis genus‐group was re‐examined. Paratrechina (broad sense) species segregated into three distinct, robust clades. Paratrechina longicornis represents a distinct lineage, a result consistent with morphological evidence; because this is the type species for the genus, Paratrechina is redefined as a monotypic genus. Two formerly synonymized subgenera, Nylanderia and Paraparatrechina, are raised to generic status in order to provide names for the other two clades. The majority of taxa formerly placed in Paratrechina, 133 species and subspecies, are transferred to Nylanderia, and 28 species and subspecies are transferred to Paraparatrechina. In addition, two species are transferred from Pseudolasius to Paraparatrechina and one species of Pseudolasius is transferred to Nylanderia. A morphological diagnosis for the worker caste of all six genera is provided, with a discussion of the morphological characters used to define each genus. Two genera, Prenolepis and Pseudolasius, were not recovered as monophyletic by the molecular data, and the implications of this result are discussed. A worker‐based key to the genera of the Prenolepis genus‐group is provided.